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A review by shaynalambert
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
5.0
Many thanks to the publisher, HarperCollins/ Quill Tree Books, for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
As a fat nerd, I really enjoyed Miller’s debut, OUT OF CHARACTER, so I was very excited for this book. WE GOT THE BEAT is the sort of YA contemporary romance that made me love the genre—a relatable story with emotional stakes and realistic characters that speaks to teenagers where they’re at. I feel like this story could be happening right now in about any high school in the country. Miller’s sophomore release is a wonderful work, and I highly recommend it.
The main character, Jordan, is what I’m affectionately calling a “lovable curmudgeon.” She’s not particularly bubbly, outgoing, or happy-go-lucky, and that’s something that really endeared me to her. Jordan is incredibly focused on her future goals—getting into Columbia and majoring in Journalism. As such, her main want in the book is an editor position on the school newspaper despite being a junior. Everything seems on track for her goals until she receives her assigned beat: covering the volleyball team. Jordan is frustrated by this, but things go from bad to worse when she realizes that she’ll have to write a feature piece about the captain of the volleyball team. And who is the team captain?
Mackenzie West. AKA the former friend who ditched her freshman year for the popular kids and started a rumor that Jordan is a weird stalker.
So in order to work her beat and earn her editor position for the next year, Jordan has to follow Mackenzie around, interview her and the volleyball team, and deal with all the feelings she’d buried for years digging their way back up. The weird part is, Mackenzie seems to want to be friends again. But is she truly sorry? Or does she just want Jordan to write a glowing feature article about her?
In my opinion, Miller handles the push and pull of Jordan and Mack’s relationship extremely deftly. They both have reasons not to trust each other, but also many reasons to want to try to mend fences. The build of their emotions is slow, steady, and incredibly believable. Never was there a moment where I was ripping my hair out because everything would be solved if the two of them would just have a two-minute conversation. Jordan and Mackenzie are actually shockingly open with each other, but there is a lot of real hurt there, and the pace of their working through those feelings was spot on. It was incredibly organic, and at the same time, the book did not drag at any point.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of YA lesbian romances (and the book is explicit lesbian rep! yay!). It rings very true and has many swoony moments that made me squee. I rooted for the two main characters the entire time, and it has vibes of will-they-won’t-they in the most satisfying way. The supporting cast is very well-rounded and realistic as well. It’s so easy to have the “popular girls” be these kinds of 2D villains that the nerdy MC has nothing in common with, but there are no such cliches here! Jordan’s two best friends have deeper lives than simply being vehicles for Jordan’s growth, as well as their own character arcs. The whole thing is incredibly refreshing. I loved this book! You should definitely pick it up!
As a fat nerd, I really enjoyed Miller’s debut, OUT OF CHARACTER, so I was very excited for this book. WE GOT THE BEAT is the sort of YA contemporary romance that made me love the genre—a relatable story with emotional stakes and realistic characters that speaks to teenagers where they’re at. I feel like this story could be happening right now in about any high school in the country. Miller’s sophomore release is a wonderful work, and I highly recommend it.
The main character, Jordan, is what I’m affectionately calling a “lovable curmudgeon.” She’s not particularly bubbly, outgoing, or happy-go-lucky, and that’s something that really endeared me to her. Jordan is incredibly focused on her future goals—getting into Columbia and majoring in Journalism. As such, her main want in the book is an editor position on the school newspaper despite being a junior. Everything seems on track for her goals until she receives her assigned beat: covering the volleyball team. Jordan is frustrated by this, but things go from bad to worse when she realizes that she’ll have to write a feature piece about the captain of the volleyball team. And who is the team captain?
Mackenzie West. AKA the former friend who ditched her freshman year for the popular kids and started a rumor that Jordan is a weird stalker.
So in order to work her beat and earn her editor position for the next year, Jordan has to follow Mackenzie around, interview her and the volleyball team, and deal with all the feelings she’d buried for years digging their way back up. The weird part is, Mackenzie seems to want to be friends again. But is she truly sorry? Or does she just want Jordan to write a glowing feature article about her?
In my opinion, Miller handles the push and pull of Jordan and Mack’s relationship extremely deftly. They both have reasons not to trust each other, but also many reasons to want to try to mend fences. The build of their emotions is slow, steady, and incredibly believable. Never was there a moment where I was ripping my hair out because everything would be solved if the two of them would just have a two-minute conversation. Jordan and Mackenzie are actually shockingly open with each other, but there is a lot of real hurt there, and the pace of their working through those feelings was spot on. It was incredibly organic, and at the same time, the book did not drag at any point.
I highly recommend this book for lovers of YA lesbian romances (and the book is explicit lesbian rep! yay!). It rings very true and has many swoony moments that made me squee. I rooted for the two main characters the entire time, and it has vibes of will-they-won’t-they in the most satisfying way. The supporting cast is very well-rounded and realistic as well. It’s so easy to have the “popular girls” be these kinds of 2D villains that the nerdy MC has nothing in common with, but there are no such cliches here! Jordan’s two best friends have deeper lives than simply being vehicles for Jordan’s growth, as well as their own character arcs. The whole thing is incredibly refreshing. I loved this book! You should definitely pick it up!